Product Information:
Only a tiny amount of Goldkapsel this year. For this rare style, multiple passes and draconian selections were required to harvest fruit at precisely the right level of ripeness. Katharina Prüm explains the Goldkapsel wines in this way: “Think of them as limited edition, small production lots of the best Auslese of a vintage. They are made from stronger, selected grapes containing more concentrated juice, usually affected by a certain amount of botrytis. They can age even remarkably longer than ‘basic’ Auslesen, lasting for many decades. Over time, they lose some of their sweetness, gain more and more elegance and harmony, and the complex profile and depth come to the forefront.” On the nose, an explosion of candied yellow fruits but tempered by aromatic citrus. The palate has a broad range of fine exotic elements (mango, guava, passion fruit). Staggeringly fresh finish, very racy and wet stone minerality cuts through. A rarity.
Goldkapsel wines can work very well with desserts - ideally fruit-based dishes or crème caramel, typically nothing too sweet or chocolate-based. However, they are again better paired - especially with age - with robust, savoury food and especially cheese. With savoury dishes, you can throw anything at them, even very spicy dishes, red meat. These wines are far more versatile than most dry whites and certainly more so than all red wine styles.
Situated in the Mosel wine region, along the Mosel River in Germany. This region is renowned for producing some of the best Riesling wines in the world. Bernkasteler Badstube is the last of the vineyard sites that can appear on a J.J. Prum label. This vineyard borders those of the Graacher Himmelreich on the latter’s southern edge. The Bernkasteler Badstube slopes are on a marginally shallower gradient, with deeper soils than the more established Graacher and Wehlener, while the western orientation allows the vines longer exposure to the afternoon sun. Kabinett Riesling has a sweetness level that can range from dry to off-dry and can exhibit flavours and aromas of citrus, stone fruit, floral and mineral notes. In regards to the ripeness level, Kabinett Riesling is prized for its lightness, balance and for being delicious when paired with a variety of foods.
It is impossible to describe JJ Prüm wines without mentioning the German Pradikatswein Wine Classifications that indicates the ripeness level of the Riesling grapes. Auslese Goldkapsel - While not strictly within the Pradikatswein Classifications, a producer may use a gold capsule or foil to denote a wine made with fruit that is of an even higher level of selection than the standard Auslese.
To put that into context, the lightest in the German Riesling spectrum is Kabinett (picked at full ripeness), moving on to Spatlese (Late Harvest), Auslese (Select Harvest), Auslese (Select Harvest) Goldkapsel, Auslese (Select Harvest) Lange Goldkapsel, Beerenauslese (Select Berry Harvest), and then the ripest being Trockenbeerenauslese picked as single berries that are almost raisinated by noble rot and selected by hand, further these berries are dried on straw mats further concentrating the sugars and flavour/aroma compounds. Generally speaking, the later the harvest, the longer the wine can live, so Spatlese is more age-worthy than Kabinett, Auslese more so than Spatlese, and so on.
Maker:
The Prüm family story in the Mosel dates back to 1156, beginning with was Johann Josef Prüm (1873 - 1944) who founded the estate in 1911. By the mid-1930s Johann Josef’s son, Sebastian, forged the distinctive style of the Prüm wines. From 1969, the imitable Dr Manfred Prüm would elevate Joh. Jos. Prüm to even greater heights, today the estate is run by Manfred’s daughter Katharina Prüm who watches over 13.5 hectares of vines on the harrowing slate-rich slopes of the Middle Mosel. In The Wines of Germany, Stephen Brook writes “With the rise of so many excellent winemakers in the Mosel, one might have supposed that Joh. Jos. Prüm, with its profound conservatism, might have been overtaken and left behind. Not a bit of it. The Estate remains where it has been for decades: at the summit.” Which begs the question, what is the secret to J.J. Prüm's continued success? How do they stand out among top Mosel producers? It’s all about their exceptional vineyards: old vines at great sites, keeping the lowest yields, daring but calculated late harvesting, and a careful selection of the finest berries.
Joh. Jos. Prüm's vineyards are at forefront of the estate's success. Their holdings include vineyards - Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Graacher Himmelreich, Bernkasteler Lay, Bernkasteler Badstube and Zeltinger Sonnenuhr. All of these sites are exclusively dedicated to growing and harvesting Riesling grapes for Joh. Jos. Depending on the specific vintage, the average annual production of wine is typically between 10,000 to 13,000 cases.
Vineyard:
Prüm has somehow made a tiny amount of Goldkapsel this year. For this rare style, multiple passes and draconian selections were required to harvest fruit at precisely the right level of ripeness. Harvesting continued until the last days of October, but Prüm finally got there, and the wines are jaw-droppingly good. Although botrytis was rare this year, Prüm was also able to bring in some botrytis-affected grapes, which, in the end, accounted for roughly one-third of the fruit that made the wines below.
Prum’s four key vineyards are all located on the same continuous slope, all on a mixture of grey and blue Devonian slate soils with varying south-to-south westerly aspects. Positioned in the heart of Mosel the vineyards are named from south to north: Bernkasteler Badstube, Graacher Himmelreich, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, and Zeltinger Sonnenuhr. These vineyards have been in continuous production for some 2000 years.
The major differences between the sites have to do with the variation in the aspect (from south to southwest) and the steepness and the depth of the soil. These are subtle differences, but make for wonderfully distinctive wines. Of course all the vineyards of J.J. Prüm are renowned, but the majestic Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard that is the most famous. The revered site lies opposite the village of Wehlen and the Estate owns seven hectares - largely planted to ungrafted wines - which has very thin topsoil over Devonian slate (in some areas of the vineyard the plants grow out of pure rock!). Wehlener Sonnenuhr has the highest pure stone content of all the Prüm vineyards, and along with neighbouring Zeltinger, the steepest of Prüm’s vineyards - with a dizzying 65-70% gradient in places. Wine writer Stuart Pigott summarises perfectly, “In top vintages the Wehlener Sonnenuhr yields the richest, silkiest, most seductive wines on the Mosel. The fame of these Rieslings is inextricably linked with that of the Joh Jos Prüm estate.”
Nose - Exotic Flowers, Guava, Whipped Almond Cream
Candied Mirabelle and white peach are still tempered by aromatic citrus, fine exotic elements (mango, guava, passion fruit), smoke, whipped almond cream, yellow flowers, orange blossom, acacia, and cassis.
Palate - Passionfruit, Meyer Lemon, Mirabelle
full of fruit but also of serene, smooth, tempered ripeness that just shimmers with Mirabelle, peach, Meyer lemon and supple, tempered, zesty, balanced sweetness.
Finish - Honey, Racy Acidity, Wet Stone Minerals
Botrytis is only evident in concentration and a touch of honey on the finish.
Rippling with exotic flower and fruit aromas, this remarkably concentrated Mosel Auslese also has a staggering brilliance thanks to the very racy acidity and wet stone minerality. What a silky texture the breathtakingly refreshing finish has! Wonderful passion fruit flavor here. Drink or hold. - Stuart Pigott, Jamessuckling.com, 98 Points.
The 2022 Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Auslese GK was made from shrivelled rather than botrytized fruit and was fermented down to noble-sweet levels of residual sugar. It offers a beautifully restrained and almost non-saying nose at first, yet quickly shows superbly complex and captivating notes of fine exotic elements (mango, guava, passion fruit), smoke, whipped almond cream, yellow flowers, orange blossom, acacia, and cassis. The wine proves superbly refined and elegant on the layered and comparatively light-weighted palate. It gains presence and intensity as it unfolds and leaves a magnificent elegant and gorgeously creamy touch in the hugely long finish. What a splendid wine! - Jean Fisch and David Rayer, Mosel Fine Wines, 96 Points.
The 2022 Riesling Bernkasteler Lay Auslese Goldkapsel was made with a small portion of botrytis, around 30%. Candied Mirabelle and white peach are still tempered by aromatic citrus, resulting in a picture of elegance, full of fruit but also of serene, smooth, tempered ripeness that just shimmers with Mirabelle, peach, Meyer lemon and supple, tempered, zesty, balanced sweetness. Botrytis is only evident in concentration and a touch of honey on the finish. (Sweet). Drink: 2025-2050. - Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous, 94 Points.
The Finer Details
Style - White Wine
Varietal - Riesling
Country - Germany
Region - Mosel
Vintage - 2022
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 7.5%
